The Presbyterian Page
The Presbyterian Church is a Church based on the example of the early Church described in the Book of Acts.
Presbuteros, the Greek word meaning elder, is used 72 times in the New Testament. It provided the name for the Presbyterian family of churches, which includes the Reformed churches of the world. Both Presbyterian and Reformed are synonymous with churches of the Calvinist tradition.
The church is governed by Elders chosen by God through the voice of the congregation. Together with the pastor, the Elders oversee the Spirital needs of the Church.
Some Presbyterian Churches also have Deacons who oversee the charity and material needs of the Church.
During the 4th century, after more than 300 years of persecution under various Roman emperors, the church became established as a political as well as a spiritual power under the Emperor Constantine.
Theological and political disagreements, however, served to widen the rift between members of the eastern (Greek-speaking) and western (Latin-speaking) branches of the church. Eventually the western portions of Europe, came under the religious and political authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Eastern Europe and parts of Asia came under the authority of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In western Europe, the authority of the Roman Catholic Church remained largely unquestioned until the Renaissance in the 15th century. The invention of the printing press in Germany around 1440 made it possible for common people to have access to printed materials including the Bible. This, in turn, enabled many to discover religious thinkers who had begun to question the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. One such figure, Martin Luther, a German priest and professor, started the movement known as the Protestant Reformation when he posted a list of 95 grievances against the Roman Catholic Church on a church door in Wittenburg, Germany in 1517.
Some 20 years later, a French/Swiss theologian, John Calvin, further refined the reformers' new way of thinking about the nature of God and God's relationship with humanity in what came to be known as Reformed theology.
John Knox, a Scotsman who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland. Other Reformed communities developed in England, Holland and France. The Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to Scotland and England.
Presbyterians have featured prominently in United States history. The Rev. Francis Mackemie, who arrived in the U.S. from Ireland in 1683, helped to organize the first American Presbytery at Philadelphia in 1706.
One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Rev. John Witherspoon, was a Presbyterian minister. The Rev. William Tennent founded a ministerial "log college" in New Jersey that evolved into Princeton University. Other Presbyterian ministers, such as the Rev. Jonathan Edwards and the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, were driving forces in the so-called "Great Awakening," a revivalist movement in the early 18th century.
The Presbyterian church in the United States has split and parts have reunited several times. Currently the largest group is the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which has its national offices in Louisville, Kentucky. It was formed in 1983 as a result of reunion between the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS), the so-called "southern branch," and the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA), the so-called "northern branch."
Other Presbyterian churches in the United States include: the Presbyterian Church in America, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
In 1629 Presbyterian puritan colony arrives at Massachusetts Bay.
In 1630 the first Presbyterian minister reaches America: the Rev. Richard Denton settles in Wethersfield, Conn.
In 1683 the chief founder of the Presbyterian Church in America, the Rev. Francis Makemie, arrives in Maryland and establishes Rehoboth Church, the oldest Presbyterian church in the nation.
In 1706 First presbytery organized in Philadelphia.
In 1717 First synod organized in the Philadelphia area.
In 1789 First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. held in Philadelphia, May 21 and the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church was adopted. This was the same year the United States Constitution was adopted. Many, many Presbyterians were involved in the American Revolution and in the first Continental Congress. In fact, the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence was John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian. Since then, more Presidents of the United States have been Presbyterian than any other single denomination.
After many splits and mergers and splits again, the current Presbyterian Church (USA) was established in 1983 in Atlanta. The PCUSA is the largest Presbyterian body and resulted from a reunion of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (northern church) and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (southern church), which had separated in 1861 over the issue of slavery.
Membership
Total membership: 2.6 million members.
Total congregations: 11,400 congregations in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
National offices:
General Assembly - Louisville, Kentucky
Board of Pensions - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation - Jeffersonville, Indiana.
General Assembly budget: $125 million - $130 million annually.
Form of government: Constitutional and connectional.
Our 11,400 congregations (governed by elected Elders and Ministers which together are called Sessions) are organized into
173 presbyteries (district governing bodies) and
16 synods (regional governing bodies)
plus the General Assembly (delegated national annual meeting)
which function under the authority of a two-part constitution: The Book of Order (church government) and The Book of Confessions (doctrine).
Ordained offices:
Minister of the Word and Sacrament ordained by presbyteries
Ruling Elders (govern congregations) elected and ordained by congregations
Deacons (congregation charity service) elected and ordained by congregations
Total ministers: 15,000 active; 5,000 retired.
Ordain women? Yes (since mid-1950s).
Historic firsts
First Presbyterian congregation in America 1683, Maryland
First Presbytery 1706, Philadelphia
First Synod 1717, Pennsylvania
First General Assembly 1789, Philadelphia
Educational institutions:
67 church-related colleges and universities
10 theological seminaries
8 racial ethnic schools and colleges
Total national staff: 625 employees.
Total overseas missionaries: 800 missionaries in 90 countries.
More than You probably want to know about the
Presbyterian Church in the USA
